One nation, two systems

The Federal Court said Anwar’s attempt in getting the documents was an act "to fish for evidence", adding that Anwar can only have access to documents at the beginning of the trial if the documents are relevant to the prosecution’s case.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Defence in the murder trial of lorry attendant receives documents

(Bernama, 29 Jul 2010) -- The prosecution in the murder trial of lorry attendant M. Rajamorgan, who is accused of killing 18-month-old infant K. Haresvarra, today handed over the documents required by the defence counsel.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Alfred Agin said documents such as the chemistry and autopsy reports had been handed over when the case was mentioned at the High Court, here today.

Agin said High Court Senior Assistant Registrar, Mohd Fadhly Yaacob, later fixed Sept 1 as the date for re-mention of the case as the defence needed more time to scrutinize the documents before deciding whether they would make a representation on behalf of their client.

If the defence team, comprising Amer Hamzah Arshad and N. Surendran, wished to make a representation, they must do so on that date. Rajamorgan, 33, is charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code which carries the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.

He is alleged to have killed Haresvarra between 9.40pm and 10.10pm on March 3 at the Vista Damansara Apartment children's playground at Jalan Kenanga, Kg Sungai Kayu Ara, Petaling Jaya.

The accused was first charged at the Petaling Jaya Magistrate's Court on March 15.

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Anwar fails to get sodomy documents: Federal Court rules it's an act 'to fish for evidence'

(The Malay Mail, 29 Jan 2010) - The Federal Court today dismissed Parti Keadilan Rakyat de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s appeal to obtain key documents from the prosecution for his upcoming sodomy trial.

The ruling this morning was delivered by a three-judge panel, led by Datuk Abdull Hamid Embong. The other two were Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Arifin Zakaria and Justice Datuk Md Raus Sharif.

In delivering judgment, Abdull Hamid said the High Court had erred in its interpretation of Section 51 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), to which the High Court had allowed the defence access to key documents before the commencement of the sodomy trial.

The Federal Court said Anwar’s attempt in getting the documents was an act "to fish for evidence", adding that Anwar can only have access to documents at the beginning of the trial if the documents are relevant to the prosecution’s case.

Present in court today were Solicitor-General II Datuk Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden, and defence counsel Karpal Singh, S.N. Nair and Datuk Param Cumaraswamy.

Karpal said he would seek a judicial review of the Federal Court decision on Feb 2, the same day the trial would commence.

Anwar, 62, was charged with sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, 24, at a condominium in Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur, on June 26, 2008.

On July 16, 2009, High Court judge Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah had granted Anwar’s application under Section 51 of the Criminal Procedure Code to compel the prosecution to supply him with key documents to enable him to prepare his defence.

The High Court had granted him copies of witness statements, CCTV recordings, police reports, medical and chemist notes, among others.

The court, however, did not grant him his request for DNA samples taken from Mohd Saiful.

On Nov 6, the Court of Appeal, in a unanimous decision, had overturned the High Court’s ruling in allowing the prosecution’s appeal and dismissed Anwar’s cross-appeal for DNA samples.

In his submissions last week, Karpal had sought to have the Federal Court restore the High Court’s order, saying that the appeals filed by both parties to the Court of Appeal had been incompetent.